In searching for potential reasons why the well-recognised effectiveness of collaborative learning (CL) is often not achieved, our focus was placed on teachers’ and students’ conceptions of this approach to learning. We assume that teachers’ and students’ misunderstandings of what collaboration is and how it could be fostered in the classroom could be an obstacle to obtaining benefits from this form of learning. Their conceptions could disrupt group interactions, hindering the necessary preconditions for joint thinking and the argumentative exchange of ideas. Despite extensive research acknowledging the benefits of this form of learning, only a few studies have investigated this issue. Drawing on research of attitudes toward collaboration and the characteristics of unproductive groups, we aim to identify potential challenges to fostering classroom collaboration that arise from prevailing conceptions of this form of learning. In the empirical part of the study, we investigate which misconceptions of collaboration could be derived from the secondary school students’ experiences and their perceptions of its benefits and limitations. By identifying and addressing these misconceptions, the findings will help develop guidelines to enhance the effectiveness of collaborative learning and foster more positive attitudes toward group work among students.